WBUR lays off seven employees, as 24 staffers take buyouts

Thirty-one employees at WBUR, roughly 14 percent of the station’s staff, are leaving the company through layoffs and buyouts, according to a message that chief executive Margaret Low wrote to staff on Wednesday. Twenty-four of those employees took a voluntary buyout that was offered last month, including four senior managers. Seven staff members, including three part-time employees, were laid off Wednesday. The station, which has been grappling with a financial shortfall for months, is also eliminating nine open jobs, pulling back on travel expenses, and will spend less or negotiate lower rates for contract services, Low said. The station will adjust the schedule of some programming, but no shows will be eliminated. Low added that the changes would save the station $4 million. And she added that the coming fiscal year “will be another year of deficit spending as we map a path to sustainability. Which we are doing.” The station’s editorial union, which is part of SAG-AFTRA, said Wednesday “has been a difficult day for everyone at WBUR.” “Our thoughts are with all of our colleagues who have been told that their job is being eliminated,” the union said in a statement. “Of course, we are disappointed that all of our jobs were not preserved through cost-saving alternatives.” The statement noted, however, that the buyouts “helped to reduce the number of job losses and will allow laidoff colleagues to apply for open internal positions.” The layoffs and buyouts will affect departments across the station, a spokesperson said. The four senior managers that took buyouts are executive director of business partnerships Pete Matthews, senior director of finance Del Reese, director of membership and campaign strategy Mike Steffon, and executive director of engineering, operations, and IT Karl Voelker. — AIDAN RYAN